The Solace System
by mabel-but-slytherin
Summary: A new threat appears in Oregon, one that Gundam can't just destroy or even begin to understand. How is Celestial Being supposed to end all war if they can't dispel the fear that justifies nations' armament in the first place? Set after S1E11 of Gundam 00 and during Weirdmageddon.


**AN: First off, this is a birthday gift fic for sappphireswimming, so happy birthday! I know I'm posting super late in the day but that's literally because I spent the last 6 and a half hours finishing this because it somehow went way longer than I was intending! Like, it's just about 10k without the author's note and I'm still not used to when I started magically writing giant chapters and oneshots.**

 **Second, you'll notice that this is a Gravity Falls/Gundam 00 crossover, surprise! I may have come up with the basic idea for a crossover of Gravity Falls and sapphire's favorite show and then spent the past month secretly watching and plotting and analyzing the Gundam characters enough to make this happen. I've only seen the first 13 episodes because of classes and life, however, so huge thanks needs to go to durinswizardwheezes (who literally had no clue who I was until I first asked her about this) for being a beta, Gundam canon/characterization consultant, just generally offering awesome, support, and making sure I didn't wind up more irreparably spoiled fact-checking on the Gundam wikis than I wound up being! And all without having seen more than half a season of Gravity Falls! This was definitely a big effort on her part as well as mine, even if she can't read the GF sections until she's finished that show, because it was bascially a bunch of Skype exchanges of us both trying to explain and fit parts of canon together without spoiling future episodes to the other, so for that I'm really grateful.**

 **Finally, a note on timelines. This takes places firmly between S1E11 and S1E12 for Gundam 00 and at the beginning of Weirdmageddon for Gravity Falls. Gravity Falls remains unchanged but moved to summer of 2307 just to make the timelines work (blame Blendin). Major spoilers for both series up to those points and potentially minor spoilers or canon inconsistencies for Gundam after that. I honestly have no clue since I haven't seen much past that. Fic is titled for an Epica song.**

 **So I hope you all enjoy, especially sapphire and durin, but everyone else reading too! I really loved the idea of taking a supernatural event and making characters from a realism based series react, especially with characters like Setsuna and Sumeragi who go the extra step to start subtly questioning their larger beliefs. I'm tempted to try it for other crossovers, so tell me what you think!**

 **Enjoy!**

* * *

 _ **August 2307.**_

 _The world was changing too fast. Summer's ending and the world is changing too fast._

 _Mabel Pines just wanted to hold on to her life and keep it close forever. But as she dug through Dipper's backpack without looking and felt the device Blendin was looking for she knew she had to make a choice and let one of them go. Lose either her brother or a secret he hadn't told her yet. It wasn't some other difficult, world-ending choice, was it?_

 _It didn't occur to Mabel as she held out the rift that once again she was at a crossroads between clinging to the world she knew and trusting fate enough to let go. It didn't occur to her until the unnatural smile crossed Blendin's face that this time letting go was the same as hitting the button before Grunkle Ford arrived, that this time it was letting go that halted fate and shutting all of time down. The irony didn't strike Mabel until after the rift shattered on the ground that this time it was letting go that was the wrong choice._

* * *

 **Union Department of Defense**

"Mr. Secretary of Defense, sir!" The Secretary paused at his desk and looked up at the harried looking soldier who just barged into his office and lingered in the doorway. His schedule was still cleared for a call with the President that had ended early, whatever news would risk interrupting that had the man's attention.

"Yes?" He said after the soldier paused to take a breath, still standing at full attention.

The soldier dropped his arm and quickly stepped towards the desk, "We have urgent reports coming in from state police and national guard on the western coast. A giant dome seems has appeared covering about 20 square miles in central Oregon, no vehicle or communication can get in or out."

The Secretary couldn't help but stare at the lower officer. "A giant dome? In Oregon?"

"Yes sir. Local officials have begun investigations but no one knows what to make of it. We haven't heard anything from the inside and the civilians on the scene have been cautious in approaching." He paused, as if unsure how to phrase what he had to say to the General. "It's… glowing, sir."

That got a start out of the Secretary. "Glowing?!" At the soldier's affirming nod he flinched back and turned to bark at his secretary's side office, "Get me visual on this now!"

The hologram projector on his desk immediately flickered to life, a 2D satellite image quickly resolving itself in the air but still remaining fairly fuzzy on the holo-screen. Sure enough, carving out the cliffs and woods of the Pacific Northwest wilderness was a giant dome of unnaturally shifting colors. Oranges, purples and greens made up the majority of the swirling surface, casting the surrounding scene of police cars and curious civilian onlookers in the shades of a demented sunrise.

"We have investigative forces on their way but so far there's no sign of an escalation or further attack. No country or terrorist organization has claimed responsibility. What-"

The Secretary cut him off with a hard look. "No group has claimed responsibility? They haven't had the chance!" A glance at the suddenly sweating man in front of him made the General pause and his voice go cold. "How long did this thing take to appear and when did it start?"

The soldier looked uncomfortable, "We-we're not sure, sir. Again, the affected area is seemingly random, just a small town deep in the woods. Satellite imaging suggests sometime late afternoon yesterday and-"

" _Yesterday!_ " The General slammed his fist on his desk and glared at the now quivering soldier. "And I'm just hearing about a direct threat to the United States homeland _now?!_ "

"We-we've just become fully aware of the situation, Mr. Secretary sir. Again, there are no military outposts or even affiliated communication devices inside the dome and all civilian contact has been halted. It was only a series of several civilian truck driver calls that convinced state police to investigate a possible hoax and call the national guard. This is even one of the first clear visuals we've received and we had to use a far-distance satellite, it appears that somehow it's messing with any external communication signals in the direct vicinity as well as all near and mid-range imaging devices."

The Secretary lowered his head as a half-dozen more officers entered the room carrying information no doubt about the crisis. "What should we do, sir?"

"Send a team of our top researchers to investigate the site. Call up Ralph Eifman to head the off-site analysis. Get a team of flag ships protecting all personnel but instruct them not to move from formation without an initiated conflict, just in case this is a trap. We can't start opening fire on our own soil without verifying there aren't other countries involved first.

"And get me back on the line with the President. He needs to be briefed on the threat and begin strategizing a retaliation against the perpetrators immediately."

The initial informant nodded as the secondary team scattered to implement the orders before catching at the last statement and staring at his superior wide-eyed. "Do you really know who's behind this, sir?"

The Secretary of Defense let out a huff and leaned back in his seat before giving the younger soldier in front of him a look. "Seemingly solid glowing light appears out of nowhere and all of our communications system nearby are inexplicably jammed. Isn't it obvious who the people are behind it?"

The Union's top general stared at his staff and gave the one word diagnosis he would later echo to the President: "Gundam."

* * *

 **Japan**

" _And now, for some urgent breaking news:"_

Setsuna F. Seiei slowed down in his walk towards his apartment building. He often preferred to watch the news from the safety and privacy of his home, but a Gundam was always aware and informed, and if it meant catching a potentially vital news story it was worth lingering near the small crowd already gathering to watch the TV news through the electronics store window.

" _Reports are coming in of a mysterious dome appearing deep in the wilderness of the northwest United States. It appears to be centered on a small town with no obvious military or political significance. All civilian movement near the area has been halted, but there is no current word on the status of those already present include any potential casualties or evacuations. The Union has yet to make an official statement regarding the event, but anonymous leaks within the government have suggested that whatever actions are behind this are unauthorized._

" _Scientists and political strategists have been quick to speculate about the cause of the anomaly, with the clearest current imaging onscreen. Some have raised concerns linking the semi-solid projection technology to Celestial Being, but the paramilitary organization has yet to make a statement either claiming or denying the association."_

Setsuna turned on his foot and walked to the side of the crowd where he could just make out the grainy image of a dome of light on one of the many screens. Piecing together what he saw with what he knew of GN particles Setsuna doubted they were the same technology, but he couldn't deny the similarities.

He would've heard about another mission operation taking place, however, and it was idiotic for these reporters to assume that Celestial Being had any need to run tests or set up a base among Union civilians. Letting out a scoff that could almost be called a laugh Setsuna turned to mull over what could really be behind this on the rest of the walk back to his apartment.

"Hey, Setsuna! Is that you?"

Setsuna froze slightly in shock of hearing someone shout his codename in the streets and turned his head to see a boy waving to him as he shoved his way out of the still riveted onlookers. Taking in the familiar face Setsuna nodded as the boy approached.

"Saji Crossroad, yes?"

Said boy's face lit up in a smile as he nodded back. "Yeah! Glad to see you remembered!" His arm seemed to move as if he was going to ask to shake Setsuna's hand again before he remembered that it was occupied by a box of pizza that miraculously hadn't been spilled as he pushed through the busy street. He looked at the box and his expressive face fell into a frown for a second before trying to hide it as he looked back to Setsuna.

"Did you see the news just now? Pretty crazy stuff going on in the Union right now, huh?"

"Yeah." Setsuna said as he turned to keep walking towards their shared apartment building. No sense in wasting time if they were both heading in the same direction.

"Actually… hey!" Saji called out as he seemed to realize Setsuna was leaving. The latter stopped at the call to give an empty look to the younger boy who ran the few meters between them.

"Well, uh-" Saji started after he caught up and started walking enthusiastically next to the more sedate Setsuna. "I just got off work and grabbed some pizza for my sister and I, but I guess with a story this big they're probably going to keep her late at the station to investigate further leads. She texted me saying her boss thinks the Union might be trying to successfully replicate Gundam technology!"

"The Union is making their own Gundam…?"

Saji continued on without hearing Setsuna's muttering, "And my sister's one of the investigators working mostly on Celestial Being, so she'll probably be in all night again. Louise is out with her mother tonight or else I'd call her over, but maybe you would… like to come to my place and share some pizza? We always keep the news on while we're eating at my place so you can stay up to date on stuff, and we did promise to share some neighborly meals sometime…" Saji trailed off at the invitation and looked over to see Setsuna staring hard into the distance as he walked, obviously deep in thought.

 _Whether or not the Union is trying to build their own Gundam, it is possible that the similarity to the particles is due to it being some kind of prototype. And to appear in a perfect dome without supports… could it be..._ _related to Gundam or God_ _? I need to look into it, and Celestial Being needs to know…_

In a split second Setsuna pivoted in the street and started in the opposite direction, back on the way out of the city.

"-Setsuna?" Saji called out.

"I'm not going to my apartment right now." Setsuna stated without pausing or turning his head. "Maybe some other time."

He was agile enough not to slow from his fast pace while passing the new crowd of people milling by the electronics store, just as he was too well-trained a soldier to speed to a run or do anything that might draw unwanted attention. He is a Gundam meister of Celestial Being, and it's his job to chase down anything that might lead to war or Gundam.

" _And now an update on our top story tonight. The Human Reform League has issued a statement denouncing the Union over the incident as an attempt to replicate and test Gundam technology in little supervised areas of its own territory. Political reactions are mixed given recent events in their own territory, with many dismissing the claims as an attempt to justify their own illegal experimentation on civilian super soldiers uncovered just a few weeks ago._

" _Investigative journalists have begun to note the connection between the affected area, Gravity Falls, with significant scientific grants from the Union dating back over the last thirty years and apparently tied to a major police investigation earlier this summer. As of yet there is no firm military ties to any of the research grants, but our own investigative team and the rest of the world is hard at work digging for the truth behind the continuing incident."_

* * *

 **Deep Space**

"Miss Sumeragi, what do you make of this?" Christina piped up from the deck as a camera image of Gravity Falls and the surrounding dome appeared on screen.

Sumeragi Lee Noriega took a step back in shock at the picture as she made her way towards her chair in the bridge and quickly took a seat. "What is this?"

"A twenty-five-mile dome that materialized out of nowhere over Union territory in the Northwest United States at an undetermined time yesterday." Feldt said without looking up from her continued research onscreen. "Our sources are reporting that they had no awareness of the Union planning this, but some unofficial news reports are calling it a successful test run of Gundam particle technology."

Sumeragi leaned in closer to the image as if it would help her make out more. "Those aren't GN particles, and if Professor Eifman has succeeding in creating GN particles on his own then the Union wouldn't be showing it off to the world in such a flagrant and tactically useless way." She chewed on her lip as she tried to examine the random pattern of colors across its surface. "And Billy would've told me…

"So what else do we know about the situation?"

Christina jumped out of the latest report she was reading. "There's only rumors at this point, Miss Sumeragi. Most media outlets seem to be calling it as a direct attack on the Union by Celestial Being and are questioning if it's part of an intervention."

Lichty chose that moment to run into the bridge and head over to his work station. "I just heard an update on the news! The Human Reform League says it has intel that the area inside dome is a Union supersoldier institute!"

"I'd expect them to say sometime along those lines regardless of if it's true, but looking into it on our end won't hurt." Sumeragi remarked. "Feldt, contact Wang Liu Mei and ask if she or her sources have any information on what's behind the dome."

"Will do."

Zooming in the image even more Sumeragi cursed the lack of resolution. "And when you're done see if we can get any better eyes on what's going on. Christina, make sure all the meisters know they are not to take any direct action. We've already had enough close calls and this looks too suspicious to risk action not related to our main objective-"

"Speaking of that," Christina interrupted. "We have activity from Gundam Exia!"

"Exia?" Miss Sumeragi paused to look over the projected flight path of Exia from Japan towards the United States. "I thought if we had to deal with problems from one meister it would've been-" Another dotted line quickly joined the map.

"Now Kyrios is online as well!"

"Damn," Sumeragi swore. "I need a drink."

"Trouble with the other meisters again?" Tieria floated into the bridge and folded his arms as he took in the situation. "Veda detected strange but ultimately irrelevant activity and I figured you may be struggling."

Sumeragi sighed and looked over to the criticizing pilot. "The dome seems to be giving off a strong enough interference that we won't be able to communicate with the Gundams from this distance. I suppose we'll need someone to drag back those two and make sure this doesn't escalate into a fight without permission for intervention. Perhaps the odds would look better if Virtue was involved…"

Tieria raised an eyebrow and didn't move. "And turn this into a four-Gundam conflict?" At Sumeragi's look he smirked, "Lockon is making his way to Dynames for a retrieval mission as we speak. Just run by the mission overview and strategy when he reaches out to you, unless you need my assistance with that as well."

He turned and started walking back towards his capsule, or more likely Veda's, before pausing after a step. "It's appearing as if you're dangerously close to losing your touch. Sometimes I wonder if it isn't the best course of action for Celestial Being to start looking to find itself another strategist."

Christina jumped out of her seat at the accusation. "Hey! Miss Sumeragi is doing her best right now to analyze the situation and her strategies have been nearly flawless throughout every operation! Which is more than you or any of the meisters are doing right now!"

"Nearly isn't good enough if we're to follow through on our mission to stop all war." Tieria muttered before starting to leave again. "And I'm going to consult Veda, which is the best allocation of resources when analyzing an unfamiliar situation. As to the other meisters, I never said Celestial Being shouldn't be looking to replace them too."

The doors closed behind him to Christina still fuming as she returned to her station, "Ugh, his ego!"

"It's okay, Christina." Sumeragi spoke up, "Having another person consulting Veda will be helpful in this situation." _Even though I doubt even Veda will be able to fully analyze this_. Sumeragi was tempted to voice her skepticism of Tieria's actions, but knew better than to potentially worry the crew.

Because she had to admit that the initial readings, and every new piece of analysis their systems read in to her monitor, were worrying. It couldn't be GN particles, not in that number and configuration, but even Sumeragi couldn't deny that on the surface they appeared to share similar properties. But a dome of that size and endurance, without any obvious sourcing was an enigma, especially since it was solid enough to apparently be impassible.

The biggest question was the status of the town inside. Depending on their resources, if the barrier doesn't dissipate soon it may raise question of sustainability, particularly of air and water. Not to mention if the dome's source was something inside, and how much energy it was using to surround that area…

She squinted at the latest hacked intelligence report and had to steel herself to not gasp. A basic scouting report found an undisturbed river near the perimeter, and believed it may pass through the boundary but were holding off further investigation until they had assistance. That…

That would be enough to start making Sumeragi question her view on the possibility of it all.

She shook her head. There was nothing in the world that couldn't be explained by science, Professor Eifman taught her that. Even GN particles, which seemed near magical when she first entered Celestial Being, had a firm explanation behind their origins and limits, and how to best strategize their use in battle.

It's just a mystery we haven't figured out yet, and from how the Union's acting they don't understand it yet either.

Even though it was her job as a strategist, Sumeragi couldn't consider the possibility that this was something other than a Union blunder or a trap.

Some possibilities were too improbable to entertain.

She tried to push back the haunting voice that sounded like Tieria accusing that as a sign that she was losing her touch.

"Miss Sumeragi, where are you going?" Christina was the first to ask after her as she rose from her seat.

"Don't mind me. I'm just going to get that drink."

* * *

 **Over the Pacific Ocean**

There were some times that Allelujah Haptism wished he lived full time on the Ptolemios.

Granted, he probably wouldn't have been able to sneak out with Kyrios if he was currently on base, but it was definitely convenient to be able to drop in on the target when entering from orbit. Now, because he's on the surface he's stuck with a half the world commute.

It was hard to keep Hallelujah in check during the flight over. He kept whispering and laughing and screaming about how humans will always repeat their mistakes, how they needed to die, and that he's all too happy to take over if Allelujah is too weak to do it himself. Allelujah had to still his shaking hands to check the ETA on autopilot and felt a wave of relief at seeing it would only be a few more minutes.

" _Just a few more minutes until we'll pay these Union bastards for daring to do the same the HRL did. Hahahahaha we'll kill them all and it'll be a mercy! A beautiful bloody mercy!"_

"I'm not-" Allelujah winced as his voice came out too loud in response to the screaming in his head. "I'm not going to kill them this time! I'll make sure no one's in the way! I'll rescue them!" It was the only thought running through Allelujah's head since he saw the chilling news story. It was happening all over again, and so soon after he had started trying to wash off the fresh blood on his hands. He wouldn't let them keep doing this, but he wouldn't keep hurting the kids they experimented on, just like him. Even if sometimes he questioned whether this life, even for the goals of Celestial Being, was worth it, he'd be no better than the doctors and guards if he just killed indiscriminately without giving the latest batch of kids put through this hell a choice or thought.

" _Rescue them? For what – life with no purpose but continuing on as a soldier? Going to fight and intervene in whatever wars they can find? Maybe coming to intervene against Celestial Being too? HahahaHAHA, the only real rescue is_ _ **killing**_ _them! Destroying all of them and then killing the Union and HRL too!"_

Allelujah saw the flash of a new incoming call from the Ptolemios on his screen and was tempted to answer it just for the distraction, but swore when he realized that Hallalujah would be all too happy to taunt him or show himself to them even if he answered. Flying Kyrios in stealth mode didn't turn off Celestial Being's ability to track him or attempt to communicate, but it did give him the option to send them to voicemail rather than take in their yelling at him to come back.

He knew it was reckless. He knew his actions were unauthorized and hasty. Hell, he even knew what he heard on the report was only a rumor, a straw he tried to cling through but kept seeping through his shaking fists whenever fury lapped at him again. It wasn't an official mission, but stopping any new Institutes from popping up was _his_ mission, the only thing he had left to his name other than the curse of Hallelujah screaming in his head.

If he tried to deal with Sumeragi's frustration or Tieria's degrading monotone now he'd probably snap and give in to Hallelujah. Best to do it after this was taken care of and he'd hopefully taken care of the threat.

" _Yes, that's the spirit! Hahaha take it all out on those Unions bastards! Or better yet, let_ _ **me**_ _take it out for you! We're almost here, let me take over and I can do it right now!"_

Sure enough there was green now flying underneath them, and there was a blemish growing on the horizon before them like a demented sunset. Kyrios's cameras quickly zoomed in on the object, and darted away, then dashed away again until Allelujah's annoyance showed itself in a slammed fist on the camera control to turn it off.

Using the manual settings to look in on the object had a better outcome, even if the output readings completely fried once the focus finally settled. The density alone when from 6.28 to -8 to simply the word 'ODD' before settling to a constant stream random string of characters and other symbols flying across his dash. Hallelujah found the event funny and inconsequential, but Allelujah figured either Ian or Miss Sumeragi would be interested in the malfunctioning readings and made sure to save them.

Allelujah had better luck once he got within range to see the dome with his naked eye. The thing was as huge as they said, really looking 25 miles wide and stretching in a perfect circle nearly up to the upper atmosphere or beyond. It looked sickly, the oranges, greens, and purples swirling internally from whatever its power source was like a living thing sucking off the Earth, and setting the scene like some apocalyptic hellscape. It was completely opaque, and remembering that there was a town and supposedly innocent civilians inside reignited the fury he knew Hallelujah was lurking in.

They were as trapped as he was on Quanqiu, if not worse. And the dome was too big for his pincers, without any obvious aerial weakness from where he was flying. Allelujah wasn't sure how the Union was doing this, but if they thought this shield would keep him from doing what he did there, from intervening as Celestial Being was meant to in its most just operations…

He'd prove them wrong! This time, he'd save them all!

* * *

Allelujah dug his nails into his palms through his gloves to focus himself and keep Hallelujah out as he set the radar and scanners to examine the ground perimeter below him and started a flight path around the circumference to look for weak spots. The equipment may break down when aimed directly at the dome and Allelujah noted that the persistent calls from the Ptolemios ceased once he got within sensing range of the abomination, but he hoped that the computer could at least try to pinpoint the above ground or underground entrance the Union soldiers had to be using to sneak in and out if he aimed it next to and not on the dome. The return of reasonable looking numbers reassured him even if they were slower than normal, and Allelujah set a path maintaining his altitude around the object.

The Union forces were measly, on the perimeter at least, since Allelujah had no way of knowing what was waiting just underneath that sinister surface. Most were national guard and civilian vans, and a number of people in white lab coats were scurrying about a few hundred yards from where the barrier touched the ground. Kyrios's sensors informed him that there were a number of tanks and a couple Flags in the distance, but they were mostly stationed on the highway and were turned towards the dome, as if they were more concerned with keeping something from escaping than eliminating an attacking threat.

Was this an ambush then? Allelujah nearly smacked himself for not considering the possibility earlier. He had no backup and was no longer able to get a signal to reach the Ptolemios, so he was stuck only with whatever backup Celestial Being had surely already sent. This wasn't good.

But he kept moving around the dome to see nothing but the now fearfully pointing researchers and a few machine gun operating soldiers guarding them in the fields. Whatever trap this was it should've sprung by now.

Allelujah would guess he was about three-quarters of the way around the sphere when he saw more commotion on the ground below, and then came around an edge to a sight even his paranoid state (and even more angry and paranoid personality) and not expecting.

Exia.

The other Gundam was just standing there in resting position, almost as if it were unoccupied if not for the steady stream of GN particles streaming out of the back and the confusion among the Union forces gathering a few hundred yards back. It made no move to acknowledge Kyrios's arrival as a human would, or maybe it was a reflection of how hyper-focused its meister could be, but Allelujah knew that Setsuna saw him arrive when a request to share communication frequencies appeared on his monitor.

"Did Sumeragi send you to call me back?" Setsuna cut right to the point and Allelujah couldn't quite stop the chuckle, though he did his best to keep the bit of madness of Hallelujah's roaring in his head from seeping in.

"Not quite. I'm not really authorized to be here myself. Then again you're not someone I would expect to break orders to go on an unauthorized rescue mission." And that led to the question of why Setsuna was parked in the middle of a hostile battle camp without an intervention. "What are you doing here?"

"They say the dome is Gundam, but it is not. I needed to know. The light and the particles act like it, but behave differently. I need to understand it all, what makes this different. I must know, if I am to become Gundam."

Allelujah never quite knew how to react to the youngest meister. "I didn't know you knew that much about particles to begin with."

Setsuna just let out a sound of acknowledgement and didn't say anything else. Allulejah couldn't help but feel frustrated after a minute of silence from his fellow meister told him he was being ignored.

"Our priority should be on rescuing the civilians, not analyzing the scene. Leave that part to Veda after. What have you done about breaking through the barrier?"

"Huh?" Setsuna's voice had an even more distant tone than it normally carried, as if he either hadn't thought of the possibility of forcing his way through or had discounted it to stare at the bubble and was now absently reconsidering. The empty tone only fueled Allelujah's tension.

"Your sword. It cuts right through GN particles, right?"

A pause. "Yeah." Another moment passed before Exia drew one of the swords from its shoulder and held it down at its side. Kyrios's detectors sensed more movement in the crowd and Allelujah guessed that the Union soldiers were aiming the machine guns at the Gundam, but no bullets were fired.

Not that it'd do them much good. Some trap this was.

"The makeup of the barrier is unknown, but analysis shows no material commonalities with Gundam particles. The odds of this working are unknown." Setsuna's voice was as even as ever, but from the armed Exia giving an analysis it really sounded as if the kid had become a part of the robot's computer system. Maybe that's what he really meant about becoming Gundam.

Hallelujah chortled at the notion that maybe he was the sane meister here.

"Let's see how this… compares to a Gundam." Exia raised the sword and in a flash swung it down on the barrier. Allelujah braced himself, expecting sparks either from a blocking force or an impending explosion.

None of that happened. Without fanfare the sword just passed through the barrier.

No, wait, it hadn't gone through, Allelujah thought as he leaned forward with a gasp. Both voices in his head stunned silent as he took in the incredible scene in front of him, the only sound that of Setsuna's strain echoing through the open communication system.

The sword had indented into the bubble, pressed several feet down until the blade was nearly parallel with the ground, but now was being cradled on all sides by the membrane that had caved around the weapon like water. And it seemed that the unnatural substance was pushing back like a rubber band, and even Gundam Exia was struggling to hold or pierce its way through.

Allelujah couldn't help but stare, "What the hell…?"

"Ugh!" Setsuna's continued strain kicked Allelujah into action. With the push of a button Kyrios's shield shifted in to claw form and stabbed right into the bubble. Like the Exia it sank in deep before being recoiled back enough to that it might have gone flying if not connected to the larger Gundam.

Within seconds the membrane flowed back together and filled in. Allelujah tried stabbing it from the air again and again, each time just getting the same results. "What the heck is this thing? Why isn't it breaking?"

Exia refused to pull back from its position, even as small sparks started flying from the base of the arm. It wasn't until Hallelujah's frustrations sent a chill down Allelujah's spine that he actually took the attention to notice it. Over the sound of him and Kyrios he hadn't even noticed that the other meister had gone silent.

"…Setsuna? Are you alright?"

Silence reigned for almost a full minute. "There's-there's," Setsuna took in a sharp intake of breath and went silent again. Allelujah thought he could hear the other meister curse.

"Setsuna!"

"There's a kid in there!" Setsuna growled as he suddenly pulled back Exia's sword as if it was sheathed in the bubble before turning on the force of recoil in an attempt to slice through the other side. Allelujah couldn't help but assist his companion even if he had no clue what the strategy was. Hallelujah bitterly echoed that that's just what soldiers do.

"What are you talking about? How can you see through there?"

Setsuna said nothing and just kept hacking at the barrier. However, a minute later Kyrios's control panel lit up with a coded file sent from Exia. A software upgrade for the Gundam cameras?

Allelujah couldn't make out anything but random nonsense from the code as it flickered across his screen. If anything, he would say it more resembled the readings he was ignoring from Kyrios's sensors whenever it tried to focus on the sphere.

And then suddenly those readings started to make sense. Allelujah was so focused on the numbers he almost missed the change to the camera screen until Hallelujah caught it out of the corner of his eye. A kaleidoscope of colors had spread across the digital image, moving and swirling in a way that made Allelujah thankful he didn't get seasick.

And then they finished resolving, or at least the colors started interfering with the dome. Because suddenly the impenetrable bubble looked entirely transparent.

There were still some woods on the other side, but it looks like a number of the trees were chopped down. Some of the areas were even cleared without a single sign as if every tree in that part of the forest had somehow got up and just walked away. Small buildings lining the town made their way out here, or at least they used to.

Allelujah couldn't get past how much of the scene was entirely rubble. For as far as he could make out (which wasn't much, apparently whatever auto-adjustments Setsuna had turned on weren't quick enough to pierce all the way through the swirling colors that seemed to fill the entire air inside) the town of Gravity Falls lay in ruin, with pieces of debris lying motionless in the road as if some fight had occurred.

A chilling fear when soaked through Allelujah as he remembered exactly why he was hoping to burst through the bubble in the first place. He had thought that this was another Institute, a weapons development facility where the Union was testing capabilities for future wars.

Then he remembered Setsuna's words and growled as he realized the situation was even worse. There were children in there! The Union was conducting some kind of weapon tests, whatever the hell this impenetrable abomination was, and was trapping children in there with no way out!

Both eyes roamed around what he could make of the scene, Allelujah and Hallelujah teaming up to try to find where she was to save her, arguments of threat levels and killing dashed from his mind in favor of getting revenge on whatever brought this on.

There! A flash of movement against one of the walls of a ruined gas station. A lithe figure jumped up, dove around the corner, and settled against the building to catch a breath while she examined the situation. She wore a green flannel shirt around her waist and a white tank top that showed signs of exertion. Long red hair was unkempt and flying around her head as she checked her surroundings before finally settling as she took a calming sigh. Allelujah was just about to try zooming in for a closer look when she opened her eyes and looked dead on into the eyes of his Gundam.

She really was just a kid. A kid with a survivor's eyes. Allelujah started shaking uncontrollably and unconsciously mirrored her gasp of shock and probing stare with his own.

Her eyes were too calculating for a kid's. Her clothes were too beat up for a citizen the Union had a duty to protect. Her hand was too familiar with the axe she held in it for a civilian, and the way she instinctually raised it over her shoulder defensively as she turned to look at a sound Allelujah couldn't hear showed that she was way more familiar with the prospect of using it in combat than a teenage girl should ever be.

She was a soldier, but clearly not by choice. The hesitation in her actions, the way her head expertly but indecisively surveyed the terrain before sprinting thick into the trees told of a child forced into a test where she was struggling to survive. The Union's experiments were what turned her into a warrior.

The Gundam meister couldn't help but scream as she disappeared into the brush. Kyrios's spear was raised in an instant, and slashed and stabbed and pierced at the barrier as hard and quickly as he could.

" _ **I will save them all!"**_

* * *

 **Gravity Falls, Oregon**

 _Wendy Corduroy had been making a break for it ever since the Weirdness started. She had dealt with enough strange shit this summer to know both remain unfazed by whatever happened and to know she needed to keep on her feet. Both were getting harder every day._

 _From what she could gather this had something to do with that triangle thing who possessed Dipper over the summer, the one both the twins and their great uncle had been worrying about. As soon as he started sending out monsters and petrifying her friends Wendy knew that being caught in the open was bad news. She needed to regroup with other survivors, preferably the Pines, and come up with a plan._

 _But as patrols of those bat-eye things started taking up covering more and more of the town square and practically had the Shack on lockdown, Wendy realized she needed to take to the woods while they searched the town and hope she could double back and find a hideout later. So as soon as she had a clearing the young lumberjack sprinted to the trees and hoped she'd have the home-field advantage in her element._

 _Maybe she'd even find that old apocalypse bunker they once explored, even if she shivered at the thought of the shapeshifter still frozen down there. If there was a time to hide in a bunker it'd be now, and if someone could've predicted this it'd be Ford. Maybe this was what he'd built the bunker for after all…_

 _Wendy was lost enough in thought that long-ingrained survival habits and apocalypse survival training took over, and she found herself looking to the sky for navigational help from the sun or stars before remembering that whatever happened somehow turned the horizon into what could best be described as a death metal album cover. Squinting up at it the thought that Ford was a scientist and might want to know about it flashed through Wendy's head, and after climbing up a tree it looked like there was an end where the apocalyptic sky reached the horizon._

 _Well, it wasn't hiding out in a comfortable apocalypse bunker, but then again, she wouldn't be stuck staring at the really creepy form the shapeshifter got frozen in. Also, Dad always said to never back yourself into a corner during an apocalypse, and if that demon guy really had been in Ford's head at some point then moving in the wilderness was safer than being a sitting duck in some dusty tree trunk._

 _Wendy felt her phone still in her flannel pocket and resolved herself to start running towards the closest point where it looked like the woods met the false horizon. She was a Corduroy, and like hell was she going to let fear of the end of the world stop her from a recon mission that might help save her friends!_

 _Wendy had seen the curved edge of the bubble from a distance as she got closer. She had seen the small bubbles littering the open horizon by the cliffs and deemed that all of Gravity Falls must somehow be in a bigger one. The only question was whether or not the world outside of it was continuing on as normal, and whether there was some way she could get herself and other survivors out._

 _Regardless, she knew it this was just one leg of the journey. Her friends were back there, as was the monster that took Robbie, Tambry, and the others. Wendy wasn't just going to run away without going back and getting revenge._

 _Then the sky started falling in front of her._

 _It didn't crumble apart, or crash into the ground as Wendy's both worried and hoped it might. Instead it appeared as if the atmosphere caved in around something for a few hundred feet and held itself just above some of the tallest treetops. After a few seconds of everything hanging there Wendy pushed herself to start sprinting towards that part of the barrier as quickly as possible. She needed to know whatever was going on outside!_

 _As Wendy was running another indent pierced into the sky, again bending it without puncturing. This one disappeared nearly as quickly as it came, but soon more and more of the long thin structures started coming and going. Was it a rescue attempt or just another sign of something worse?_

 _She was darting through the last of the trees towards the gas station on the highway leaving town, now completely in rubble from one of those giant waves, when she made out what was causing the only pervasive canyon in the sky and gasped in awe. It was a mobile suit, like the kind she saw in military recruiting pamphlets or on the news. But this one looked bigger, fancier, and familiar._

 _Wendy found herself stopping when she saw it, and had to push herself to keep running, to always keep moving._

 _It was a Gundam._

 _Celestial Being was here?_

 _It took a second of trying to rationalize her terror for the idea to bring Wendy relief. If Celestial Being was focusing on a small place like Gravity Falls then surely the rest of the world couldn't be that bad? Granted, Wendy knew for certain that whatever was happening was centered in town, and was sure Dipper and Mabel could say more about the cause, but a Gundam wouldn't be sent here this quickly if they were busy intervening elsewhere, at least not if Wendy was remember what she heard about the group on the news correctly._

 _She darted out from the edge of the treeline and pushed herself up against a part of the broken gas station wall, shooting her head around to make sure there were no eye bats on the perimeter and to check if there was a better vantage point to pull out her phone for a picture. Wendy wasn't stupid enough to try to run through a barrier a Gundam was actively trying to cut through, and seeing that thing's giant sword being held up in the air made her pretty confident she and her axe wouldn't be able to break through._

 _Seeing nothing better she took a sigh and started to search through her pockets. She cursed at not feeling a phone in her jacket and through her eyes open, thinking she would pull it off and search, when she saw a sight that made her heart jump again._

 _A second Gundam was standing right in front of her, blade raised behind the bubble, and staring straight at her._

 _Wendy couldn't help but rake her eyes over the view. Even though she wasn't a big politics person and considered herself more in line with nature than technology, don't get her wrong, giant fighting robots were pretty cool. Up close the machine was even more intimidating as it was in the blurry pictures on the news, and Wendy soaked in every detail she knew you couldn't find on the internet. In almost seemed as if it was observing her in turn._

 _She had gotten too focused on the robot, she noted with a shutter as she heard the flapping and wailing sound that signified an eye bat steadily making its way over in her direction. Cursing she looked around to reorient herself and calculate the fastest route in the woods that would take her to the Shack. If there were Gundam outside, then Ford definitely needed to know!_

 _Then again she wasn't certain that Ford or any of the Pines would be at the Shack, or even that they were guaranteed to be safe (though Wendy didn't dare consider otherwise), but she remembered Mabel mentioning the unicorn hair was for some kind of barrier and it was her best bet. If she could get in. If not, she figured the best she could do was get back to the town center to try to hide out._

 _The Gundam went back to action as soon as she started moving, hacking and slashing at the bubble as if it was trying to reach through and stab her. Wendy just used the fear and competition to fuel her motivation to run faster._

 _She was halfway to the trees when she heard a blast that made her turn her head and run even faster. A light flashed across that piece of the horizon, then another. After she was well hidden within the tree line Wendy paused to examine the spot they were hitting. Just after the flash an object seemed to fall down along the dome, like a shotgun shell hitting the ground. Wendy paled as she remembered Dipper gleefully rambling to her once about a sniper Gundam._

 _If there were three of them here things might be even worse than she thought._

 _The familiar breathing exercises she had practiced to deal with general anxiety helped. She was a Corduroy, she could do this. The world was ending and the Pines needed her help._

 _Phrasing it like that, it wasn't even the weirdest thing that had happened this summer._

* * *

Allelujah didn't calm down until Lockon's third shot hit the barrier, this time dangerously close to Kyrios's spear.

"I have to say, Alellujah, there are easier ways of taking out your anger. For instance, next time you feel like punching a wall, I suggest you do it without your Gundam?" Alellujah could hear the smirk in Lockon's voice. "Or perhaps we could skip the entire army of Union soldier spectators?"

"Shut up Lockon!" Allelujah spat. "They have children in there!"

Allelujah could feel the impact his words had in Lockon's lack of response.

After a moment Lockon finally found words, his voice turned ice. "And you think that justifies running off without a plan? This easily could've been a trap."

Setsuna cut in before Allelujah could yell. "They need Gundam in there. I am Gundam." The meister made it sound like the logic really was that simple.

"Miss Sumeragi needs all of us at the Ptolemios." Lockon seemed to remain unmoved, but Allelujah could read the most easygoing meister well enough to tell that he was as affected as all of them. "Veda has an update on the situation. It also predicted you may have information on this barrier, and we believe that with it they may be able to find a way to bring it down."

There was no mistaking the steel in his words. "I know you don't want to leave civilians now, but standing here cutting at it isn't doing anything but reducing Celestial Being's standing in the eyes of the rest of the world. We're lucky as it is that the Union seems to be as unnerved by the situation we are and didn't bring any of those custom Flags as soon as you arrived."

Allelujah looked back at the enhanced view of the barrier and scanned the area for the girl, only to see that the redhead had vanished. _Dammit, hang out just a little longer._

Despite both himself and Hallelujah screaming at him to keep fighting, to push through the bubble or turn his anger on the Union scientists now continuing to gather data in the growing twilight, Allelujah Haptism bit his lip and transformed into flight mode. With one final look the soldier cast a look at the bubbled battlefield and growled, before switching off the camera modification and taking off for the Ptolemios.

They'd be back, and once that barrier came down whoever did this would have hell to pay.

* * *

 **Kingdom of Azadistan, Royal Palace**

"What is happening out there?" Princess Marina Ismail wondered aloud once her latest attendant left with the most recent update on the mysterious light in the United States. Two, maybe even three Gundams spotted attacking the barrier to no avail and Union soldiers just standing by not intervening. The whole world was in uproar, with all three major powers trading threats and accusations as scholars and figureheads tried to assuage the fear that more of these could spread. Some blamed the Union, some linked it to Celestial Being, and then neither group released a statement but instead silently met on the battlefield.

Normally the rest of the world was a guide for the Princess, a number of role models and examples she studied and lived by in her quest of seeking peace for Azadistan. And while Celestial Being had always been more of a wildcard, there ideology was usually fairly easy to follow, wasn't it? What was she supposed to make of this?

"Why is this happening?" Marina couldn't help but voice her thoughts.

"Why isn't what you should be concerned with right now, Princess." Shirin scolded her from her position across the room. "That can be speculated and dealt with by the rest of the world. Your duty must be how this impacts our current situation, and how you need to use this information to benefit the people of Azadistan."

Marina's head turned to her advisor at the mention of her country. "How does this effect Azadistan?"

Shirin stared straight into her charge's eye. "You need to keep in mind, Princess, that everything effects Azadistan, especially when a major power or Celestial Being are involved. Whatever is behind this doesn't matter. What matters is that both the Union and Celestial Being are unpredictable, and scared. What strategic reason do either group have to face off in a battlefield without engaging?"

Marina looked at her clasped hands in thought. "I- I don't know. Maybe they were examining the situation?"

Shirin looked to her for more before nodding. "That is likely correct. But the fact that Celestial Being needed to go into the field to look, and that multiple Gundam were unable to bypass the barrier despite apparent frustration, show limitations to their abilities that the world has not seen before, and their standing will change accordingly. Furthermore, the Union formally blamed Celestial Being for the dome, but avoided any confrontation or ambush when they appeared, even when they proved they were not behind it and were ineffective in bringing it down. That position may have allowed them to analyze the situation, but it also revealed just how little control or understanding they have over their own territory, and does nothing to dismiss accusations that they're behind this.

"Today's conflict was a major blunder on both sides, and as a Princess it's your duty to be aware of that and learn from it to take smarter actions."

Marina nodded. "I think I understand, but what am I supposed to do about it? Azadistan has no direct involvement in the situation."

"That may be true, but Azadistan is more than familiar with domestic instability and confusion. You are meeting with the UN ambassador tonight to make an appeal for their aid, yes?" Shirin smiled at Marina's nod. "Take this chance to show that him that the instability he worries about is not unique to Azadistan, and that it is in the best interest of the world that our country be prepared to provide information and assistance should something like that happen here."

Marina Ismael looked up with a gasp, "Do you think something like that might happen here?"

Shirin shook her head. "Whether or not it may doesn't matter as much as it does that you proclaim Azadistan's willingness to cooperate with the rest of the world if it does. If our country wants to have access to solar power and be a part of the world order, we need to be a participant in more than just our own internal turmoil."

"I know," Marina sighed, "But there's just so much fighting and trouble here."

"And that should be your focus, Princess, but ignoring the rest of the world until Azadistan is stable would be making the same mistake that put us in this situation in the first place." Shirin sat down on the couch next to Marina and smiled softly at the young princess. "You are doing admirably, Princess, and remember that no one is or needs to be perfect. If anything, the Union and Celestial Being proved that today. It seems that even the Gundam meisters are people who can choose to disobey orders and make mistakes."

Shirin's words triggered a memory to Marina, and her eyes looked up from her lap to gaze out the window and into the distance over the capital. The image of the young Krugish boy came to the forefront of her mind.

" _My codename is Setsuna F. Seiei. I am a Gundam Meister of Celestial Being. If the conflict doesn't end, we will go to Azadistan."_

The words terrified her to this day, the idea not only that a boy so young was fighting in so many wars, but that someone could unilaterally come in and decide her country's fate so simply, so offhandedly. He was a child and he must have suffered so much, but he didn't show it, or even acknowledge that he felt her pain. Marina wanted to help him, wanted to pity him, but at the same time he seemed so remorseless for the actions of Celestial Being that she wasn't sure she could while protecting Azadistan.

 _Were you there today, Setsuna? Were you one of the ones who stayed behind or rushed to get involved?_

Marina felt rather than saw Shirin stand up from the couch and make her way to the door, clearly trying to organize for tonight's dinner in a way that left the princess the most time to think over her situation. Marina wanted to acknowledge and thank her, but she was still focused too focus on the Gundam pilot to do so.

 _What makes a Gundam pilot decide when one situation is worth intervening in, or investigating, more than others? Was it just the attacks the media was making on Celestial Being's reputation? Could Celestial Being really be that selfish? Or was it really just a mistake like Shirin said? Can Gundam meisters even make that kind of mistake, have any form of regrets?_

 _And if they can… Setsuna, do you regret any of the things you said to me?_

* * *

 **Deep Space: A few hours earlier**

Tieria Erde floated along the halls of the Ptolemios and sighed at yet another perfectly avoidable situation. Why the other Gundam meisters had to keep getting caught up in dilemmas that had nothing to do with their overall goal, and why Sumeragi couldn't do better at predicting both their and their enemies' actions, was completely beyond him.

Still, he would do his best to salvage the situation for the sake of Celestial Being, and in order to do that he needed to consult Veda. Sumeragi had looked confused at best, which while worrying for her position as strategist, did nothing but confirm Tieria's conviction that Veda's assistance would be a welcome answer that would help them figure this out. Whatever is causing that dome must clearly be a relative of the GN particle technology, obviously Veda will have considered the alternate possibility and have prepared means of utilizing or stopping it.

He reached the room containing Veda's terminal and paused to collect his thoughts. Interacting with Veda was calming, especially when he had a firm purpose in going there are questions to ask.

It made him feel useful, and competent. Two things he couldn't say for the rest of the meisters right now.

Except maybe Lockon Stratos…

Tieria shook his head and strode into the room. He held his hands out to the monitor and closed his eyes as he felt the familiar glow pass over him as Veda confirmed his biometrics for security clearances. He opened them to focus on the black and white world of text in front of him, and had just finished typing a query for the readings Veda took from the dome this afternoon when a grating voice seemed to echo from all around him.

" _ **Well, well, well, who do we have here? Looks like someone's pretty interested in Gravity Falls!"**_

Tieria turned around but saw nothing. "Who are you? You are not authorized to be here! Show yourself!"

A triangle seemed to form itself onto the white wall on the side of the room, and even though the voice still echoed Tieria deduced it most likely came from there. _**"Hey, don't mind me! I'm just trying to help! Figured you'd need some assistance after your methods don't get you anywhere."**_

Tieria felt the insult to Veda. "You don't know what you're talking about! There is nothing in the world that Veda doesn't know about."

The voice just laughed. _**"Nothing in the world, huh? Why don't you see what it has to say?"**_

The Gundam meister snorted and looked back to the monitor in front of him. Sure enough, it had finished processing the information from the satellite imaging, and hundreds of lines of data were flooding the screen. Scrolling through to read the summary, Tieria found his smirk fading, and then slipping into a frown.

 **Contradictory readings detected. Data inconclusive. Material: unknown. Density: unknown. Origin: unknown. Weaknesses: unknown.**

Tieria shook his head and turned to the triangle on the wall. "The data is simply inconclusive, there must have been a problem with the sensors. This means nothing."

" _ **This means you're dealing with Gravity Falls, and unless you have thirty years you won't be getting anywhere without some extra help. Lucky for you I enjoy inspiring brilliant minds, and I must admit I'm quite the expert on Gravity Falls!"**_

"That doesn't explain how you're here, or why you decided to help us out now. Who are you and what business do you have with Celestial Being?"

" _ **Let's just say I've been keeping an eye on you,"**_ The room seemed to literally shake with the voice's laugh, _**"and I've always been pretty impressed by the results of your interventions! And now that we have something of mutual interest I thought that we could make a deal!**_

" _ **I give you all you need to know to start looking into Gravity Falls, figure out everything that caused it, and hopefully do your best to bring down that bubble. We both just want to make sure everyone inside can get out safe!"**_

Tieria couldn't help but be suspicious, "and the catch?"

" _ **No catch, that's the deal! You see, I even think I have a way to get rid of this thing, but the problem is that what I need to do it is a large amount of computing power, and it just happens that you have that in excess! You see, there's this equation…"**_


End file.
